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Supreme Court of India 2022-04-04 dismissed

Salim Ali Centre For Ornithology & Natural History, Coimbatore and Another vs R. Mathew K. Sebastian

Bench: 2 — M.R. Shah

In Brief

An employee terminated from service challenged his dismissal and obtained a reinstatement order from the High Court in 2002. The management's appeal was stayed, delaying actual reinstatement until 2010 when the appeal was dismissed. The employee claimed back wages for the unemployment period (August 2002 to April 2007), stating he found other employment only from May 2007. The Supreme Court upheld the back wages award, holding that an employee need not prove the negative of non-employment once he asserts it on oath; the burden shifts to the employer to prove gainful employment elsewhere. The 'no work no pay' principle does not apply when unemployment results from a stay order at the management's instance.

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Labour Law Employment Back Wages Reinstatement Burden of Proof Stay Orders Appellate Procedure

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